Set to take place in Rotterdam on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th October, Left of the Dial have announced a fresh set of names, including bed, Milkweed & more.

If ticket holders for Left of the Dial weren’t already spoiled enough, the festival’s recent addition of 30+ exciting new names to an already sizable bill will come as very welcome news indeed. The new music extravaganza, set across a gorgeous array of venues in Rotterdam – including (but not limited to) boats, buses and churches – is a must-visit for any grassroots music lover with their finger on the pulse. Think Brighton’s The Great Escape but 95% more chill, 86.75% more silly, 75% fewer queues, and 100% more Dutch. What’s not to like?

Icy-slick Japanese post-punkers bed lead this multi-continental lineup announcement and, following a breakout year that saw them release their debut album ‘Enso’ and sign to London label 40 Miles, the Tokyo quartet’s live show is a must-see for lovers of sweaty mosh pits and sunglasses indoors. Also travelling over for an inaugural stint in Europe are orchestral slacker-rockers Accessory – the new project from Jason Balla of Chicago group DEHD – whose gentle, emotionally layered new record ‘Dust’ has us eager to catch him live. Other new overseas names we’re excited about include Montreal post-rockers Yoo Doo Right. We sadly missed them at TGE earlier this year, but we heard such excellent things about their sprawling instrumental krautrock-inspired jams that they are high up on our to-see list. Sweden’s ShitKid will also be bringing her twangy lo-fi indie stylings to the festival this year.

As always, the cohort of artists appearing from all over the UK is strong. It’s a good thing they sell beer at Left of the Dial, because cracking open a cold one will be a non-negotiable for Norman D. Loco – or at least, that’s what the eccentric London slowcore newcomers’ debut single ‘I want a beer’ heavily implies. Manchester-via-London ‘slacker-folk’ septet The Slow Country are set to appear too, following a silver medal in the Green Man Rising competition, alongside fellow longlisters, Manchester alt-country quartet Wyatt. Also high up on our list to catch this year is the strange folkloric experimentalism of enigmatic duo Milkweed – their stunning album ‘Remscéla’ (released via Broadside Hacks) was one of our top picks for 2025. 

These are just some acts that caught our eye in the latest announcement, but there’s still so much for us to discover too, which is exactly what makes Left of the Dial one of the best new music festivals in Europe, full of hidden gems and surprises. Better yet, this isn’t even the final lineup – Left of the Dial say that there are roughly 50 more acts set to be added to the bill over the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Tickets and full lineup info at https://leftofthedial.nl